


Birds of a Bat

by MaeTree



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Batfamily (DCU), BAMF Cassandra Cain, Barbara Gordon is Batgirl, Bat!dad Mode Activated, Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Batfamily-centric (DCU), Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Caring Batfamily (DCU), Cassandra Cain is Black Bat, Confused Avengers, Damian Wayne Adopts Animals, Damian Wayne is Robin, Damian Wayne is a Little Shit, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Dick Grayson is a Ray of Sunshine, Dimension Travel, Duke Thomas is Signal, Duke Thomas is a Batfamily Member, Fluff, Gen, Good Older Sibling Dick Grayson, Good Sibling Barbara Gordon, Good Sibling Cassandra Cain, Good Sibling Damian Wayne, Good Sibling Duke Thomas, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Good Sibling Stephanie Brown, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, Jason Todd is Bad at Feelings, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd is a Batfamily Member, No Smut, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Protective Barbara Gordon, Protective Batfamily (DCU), Stephanie Brown is Spoiler, Stephanie Brown is a Little Shit, Tim Drake is Red Robin, Tim Drake is So Done, What Have I Done, Worried Bruce Wayne
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27457384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaeTree/pseuds/MaeTree
Summary: Due to the latest villain of the week, eight Batkids get sent to a completely different universe. One without the Justice League, but a different group of heroes called the Avengers.With a not-so-friendly start, how will the Bats get these other heroes to trust them enough to help them home? And what is HYDRA, and why do they want the Bats?Featuring plenty of Batfamily love and dysfunctionality, hopefully not OOC characters, and a bunch of hijinks and shenanigans, confused Avengers and maybe even some angst and feels! I now present...- The Batfamily and Avengers -
Relationships: Avengers Team & Batfamily Members (DCU), Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Batfamily - Relationship, Batfamily Members & Bruce Wayne, Duke Thomas & Damian Wayne, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Batfamily Members, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Roy Harper/Koriand'r/Jason Todd, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Barbara Gordon, Stephanie Brown & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Comments: 66
Kudos: 612





	1. Pilot

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [In Which Red Robin Is Done With Marvel's Shit](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17730818) by [Magical_Devil_Alex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magical_Devil_Alex/pseuds/Magical_Devil_Alex). 



> 10/10 full disclosure, 95% of what I know of the Batfamily is from fanfiction, so I'm ignoring most of the canon. In the MCU, it's set right after Civil War, but where Tony didn't attack Steve and Bucky, but still feels way betrayed. He did his best to get the Rogues pardoned, but Bucky decided to lay low after he got the programming out of his head and is doing some undercover/subtle takedowns of HYDRA bases.

**Saturday, July 18th, 2020**

**Gotham, New Jersey, USA**

**Earth One**

Gangs were a casual thing in Gotham. They came and they went, quiet or loud, but eventually they were all taken down, usually by the local vigilanties.

_ But  _ , Jason thought,  _ it doesn’t make them any less of a pain in the ass to deal with.  _

Jason was in the middle of an almost one-sided battle in the abandoned warehouse that the new gang had tried to take residence in. 

10/10 for a creative hideout, guys.

But even the most stupid of people could gather a following. There were almost 20 people in the warehouse, and almost all of them were trying to converge on the Red Hood. 

Jason hummed as he blew out kneecaps, pistol-whipping anyone that got to close. He gave the room a cursory once-over, making a mental note of all the action. Most of the occupants were either running away or on the ground crying but he turned most of his attention to the group of three that was kneeling in a circle, chanting.

So, not a gang. Just a cult. Because that is so much better! 

Not.

Jason made his way over to them as the chanting grew louder. The three cult members were kneeling around what looked to be a pile of dolls and- oh  _ shit  _ . Jason recognised those dolls. 

Or rather, Jason recognised who those dolls were supposed to represent.

Batman, Nightwing, Red Robin, Robin, Spoiler, Black Bat, Signal, Batgirl and Red Hood. 

“Well,” Jason began, his voice a sarcastic drawl, not allowing any of the nerves he was starting to feel work their way into his voice, “as flattered as I am, how about you all shut up before I shoot you.”

There was no response and Jason was starting to get worried. He brought his pistol down on one of the cultist’s skulls and watched as he crumpled, eyes fluttering shut, but lips still moving. 

The chanting grew louder. 

The next instant, all of Jason’s hair went on end and he felt a shiver run down his spine. A flash of light would have blinded him if not for his helmet, but he could see the cultist’s frozen exactly where they had been, all the dolls gone except for the Batman one. 

“No, no, no no nononono.” One of them was speaking. He reached forward and grabbed the Batman doll before turning to Jason with an unstable look in his eyes. “What have you done? Do you-”

He probably said more, but his voice had gotten so squeaky and tight that Jason couldn’t understand a word of it. The final cult member seemed to feel the same way because he completely ignored his buddy and lunged for Jason with a feral cry. 

His cry turned to a pained screech seconds later when Jason put two rubber bullets in his kneecaps. 

The monologue man was still screaming at him so Jason shot out one of his knees, just on principle.

“It is 5 in the morning, dude. I have been awake since Thursday and am definitely not in the mood to deal with your screaming bullshit right now.” Jason’s voice no longer held that sarcastic, playful mirth. No more games. “What’s with the voodoo?” 

The two conscious men gaped at him. Jason let the silence stretch, broken by the faint groans of pain as the thug-cultists struggled to remain conscious. 

Losing his patience, Jason put the muzzle of the gun against one’s head. He was going to call this one Ape. Crumpled on the ground, with his big arms dangling as fat tears rolled down his face, Jason could definitely see the resemblance. 

Gosh, some people were so dramatic. Jason had only shot out his kneecaps.

“Start talking, bud.” 

The man whimpered, but his buddy scoffed. 

“Got something to say?” He was definitely calling this guy Screechie. Or Whiny. 

“You are in no position to make demands.”  _ Jesus Christ  _ his voice was so high pitched.

“Really? ‘Cause right now, it looks like I'm the one with a gun to your friend’s skull.” Ape gave a pathetic whimper, but Whiny just gave another scoff. 

“He is not my friend. And come sunrise, you will be gone.” Whiny spoke with such a certainty that Jason was starting to feel genuine fear, not that he would show it. 

“What do you mean, gone?” 

“Banished. You and so many others. No one will be able to find you.”

“Yeah? If you guys are so powerful, why don’t you just kill us?”  _ What the fuck, me? Out of all the questions? Really?  _

Whiny seemed to be on the same train of thought as he raised an eyebrow. “Would you rather we had?” he didn’t wait for a response, “regardless, I was only able to procure a banishment spell. You and your kind have destroyed my life and stood aside as my family died, hidden in the shadows and preying on the weak. You claim-”

“Okay, sorry, sorry, I just need to ask, I’m sure you had a very nice monologue or whatever, but seriously, how much helium did you inhale before all this?” 

“Are you  _ kidding  _ me?” Whiny looked at Jason like he had just kicked his puppy, which was A) rude and B) completely nonsensical given that he was the one that was doing the villainous deeds, but whatever. Jason didn’t really care.

“Wow, so that’s just, like, your normal voice? ‘Cause  _ damn  _ that almost makes me feel bad for you. How come the Batman doll didn’t disappear with the others?” 

Whiny looked disgruntled, “I don’t know. I would assume it is because of your interruption, because this spell would find him anywhere on Earth.”

Actually, Batman was on a Justice League mission about 3 galaxies over, but Whiny didn’t need to know that.

“Mmhm, and where would we be banished to?”

Whiny faltered, “Somewhere no one will be able to find you!”

“So you don't know.”

Jason didn’t wait for a response before bringing his gun down on Ape’s temple and stepping forward to deliver a crushing right hook to Whiny’s jaw. They both dropped like puppets with their strings cut.

_ Goddamn it.  _ Jason had been looking forward to a quiet weekend, maybe even heading over to the Manor. He had been doing so good, not killing, developing somewhat decent relationships with his family, going to therapy, and  _ this  _ is the thanks he gets? 

Jason pulled out his phone, selecting the contact labeled “Dickiebird”. 

It didn’t pick up.

He tried again. This time it went straight to voicemail. 

“Hey, I’m not sure if you're going to get this in time, but apparently, we just got some magic voodoo banishment spell put on us and are going to disappear real soon.” Jason listed off the address of the warehouse. “Um, yeah- stay safe.”

Jason winced at his own idiocy, “ _ stay safe  _ ”? Really? God, he was a mess. He could feel his breath start to speed up as he made his way to the door.  _ what the fuck, what the fuck whatthefuckohgod.  _ This was not supposed to be happening. The streets were bathed in a predawn light, quiet in a way that felt completely unnatural. 

The world started spinning abruptly, colors fading in and out. 

Jason barely had time to think _ oh, fuck  _ before it all turned to black.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you all think!


	2. Wake Up (Pt. 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick, Tim, and Jason all wake up. Needless to say, pretty much everyone is confused.

**Sunday, July 20th, 2020**

**Undisclosed Location**

**Earth 53,829,274**

Dick Grayson was not having a good time.

He blames it on Karma.

It all started with Bruce needing to leave Earth with the Justice League, Dick wasn’t paying too much attention to the reason why, he stopped listening once the Green Lanterns were brought up. Like- what did the Corp even  _ do _ before the League was around?

Anyways.

Dick headed back to Gotham and had spent the rest of the week living the life of Bruce Wayne during the day and Nightwing at night. 

All in all, it was great. He was closer to his family and able to spend a lot more time around them, something that was hard to do when he was in Bludhaven.

So, he was a little tired but content. 

He had been able to go out with Babs for lunch, where they talked and maybe flirted and  _ just talked  _ because they were  _ just friends _ and he could pretend that he didn’t want anything more but they still had an amazing time and he was able to see her laugh and make her smile even though she wasn’t  _ his _ .

He was able to work with Tim on business proposals, tossing ideas back and forth and talking about which charities needed more support and how best to help them. 

Cass had dragged him to her dance studio one morning to dance with her and it had become a permanent start to his day to talk with his sister in the language she understood best, moving in sync to a rhythm that only they could hear.

He was able to pick up Damian from school each day and talk to him on the rides home and watch as his baby brother pretended to be nonchalant about the friends he was making and blush bright red as Dick teased him about his maybe-crush on the younger Superboy.

Steph and Dick had done each other's nails, scheming prank ideas that the rest of the family had felt the effects of throughout the whole weekend. Not even Alfred’s wrath could make him regret the time spent with his second sister.

Duke taught him how to play Rummy, completely crushing him at the game and laughing at him in a way that never failed to make Dick feel that warm sense of  _ family  _ in his chest because Duke always looked so uncertain of his place and all Dick wanted to do was let him know that this was his home. 

Even Jason had stopped by for help on a case and had ended up staying for dinner, sitting at the dining room table with everyone gathered around, laughing and joking. 

All the major villains were in Blackgate and Arkham so patrol was easy and fun. Not even many small-time crooks had been running around.

It had been a good week.

So when Dick wakes up on a cheaply carpeted floor after going to bed in his room at the manor, he is not surprised. Disappointed? Yes. Absolutely fed up with the universe’s bullshit? Definitely. But he wasn’t even close to surprised. 

Dick gave a small sigh, taking in his surroundings. He was in a completely average looking office cubicle, wearing nothing but a pair of Nightwing boxers that Steph had gotten him as a joke but he secretly loves. Exactly what he had worn to bed the night before. No phone or comm, no shoes and no mask.

_ Great. _

Not giving himself any time to panic, Dick turned, left the cubicle, and started looking for the exit. 

The building was fairly new, well made with floor to ceiling windows that overlooked a city street that was just barely filling with pre dawn light. It was too sunny and clean to be Gotham, which was definitely not a good sign. 

It took him less than a minute to find an entrance to a stairwell. He was on floor 6. Judging by the height of the buildings around him, Dick guessed that the building probably had over fifty floors.

Dick made his way down to the main floor, pausing before he opened the door, straining his ears. He could hear the faintest shuffle, more of a shift on clothes, just outside the door, then the quiet crackle of a radio. 

Dick gave a small sigh and opened the door. There were over a dozen guns pointed at him, but Dick just raised his arms and pretended to be surprised.

“Uh, howdy?”

* * *

_ I fell asleep _ . That was the first thing Tim’s conscious mind registered. Which-  _ duh _ . But it also raised several red flags, given that Tim had slept the night before and therefore should not have been nearly tired enough to unintentionally fall asleep. 

The second thing that Tim registered was that he wasn’t in his apartment. 

The third thing Tim noticed was that he really wanted coffee.

_ Wait. Freeze frame. Rewind. Back to thing two. _ He wasn’t in his apartment. Tim reviews his memories just to double check and  _ yep, _ he should be in his apartment. 

_ So why am I not? _

A small sound jolted Tim out of his  panicking  thoughts. Making sure to keep his breath deep and even, looking like he was asleep, Tim tried his best to understand his surroundings. From the feel of it, he was on a nice couch. Sunlight filtered in from behind his closed eyelids and he could feel the weight of at least four different pairs of eyes on him. Dimly, Tim noted that he was dressed as a civilian, loose sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. Pockets empty, feet covered in fluffy socks. 

_ Okay, time to play up the rich kid act _ .

Tim then ‘woke up’, sitting up and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand as he gave an exaggerated yawn before blearily peering around.

Only to freeze at the sight of a gun, less than a foot from his face. His eyes automatically followed the gun up to the owner, a fierce looking red-headed woman that stood in a ready, defensive stance.

Tim moved instinctively, his body not waiting for his mind to catch up as he lunged toward the woman, one hand shoving the gun out of her hands as the other grabbed onto her arm to throw her into the path of another person: a man, tall and blond, military trained, carried himself like a meta, probably with super strength.

_ Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Godamn it, what am I doing? _

Tim drew these observations up in a second, not pausing to see the result of his throw before turning to the other occupants of the room. 

The remaining two were a man and a woman respectively. The man was already lunging towards Tim. Tim easily side-stepped, turning to his last opponent while the rest were still trying to recover. The woman raised her hand and a red energy curled around them. 

Meta-human. Powers likely physically effective. Telekinesis? 

Then the red reached towards him and he could feel her brush against his mind. Gritting his teeth, Tim slammed his mental walls into place. Thank God for his lessons with the Martians. A flash of surprise crossed her face before she summoned more of the red energy. 

Tim didn’t wait to see what it would do, he was already moving. Slamming his elbow into her temple, he let her crumple to the ground unconscious. Turning back to the other three, the redhead was moving towards him. Something in Tim’s instincts told him that he didn’t have time to be caught in a fight with her, so he lunged forward into a somersault that morphed into a front handspring, making a beeline towards the nearest exit. 

The door was locked, so Tim didn’t waste any time on trying to force it open, smoothly turning for the next available door. He felt something whiz past him, but he didn’t spare any time to look at what. He was already moving towards the next exit when his shirt gave a sharp tug.

Tim turned to see an arrow, buried in the wood of the door, pinning his shirt in place. Another arrow buried itself in the wood on his other side, effectively pinning him down. 

“The third one will be between your eyes.” The newcomer was standing in a far doorway, another arrow on the string of his bow. 

Tim raised his hands slowly, internally cursing up a storm that would make Jason proud as the five surrounded him. 

He could really use some coffee right now.

* * *

Jason woke up to screaming. An unfortunately common occurrence -except for the fact that the screaming was usually his own. Right now, the screams belonged to a young couple, huddled together on a shoddy couch. 

He appeared to be laying on his back in front of an old TV that was washing the room in a pale blue light.

He stood up to face the couple, only for them to scream louder.

_ Wha- oh right. _

He was covered in leather, with guns and other weaponry strapped to every available inch of his body. Probably topped off with the occasional splatter of blood. 

_ Oh well. _

Jason just walked to the door and left the room. The screaming barely got any quieter with the door shut between them, but Jason paid it no mind. From the looks of it, he was in an apartment complex, not new, but well kept enough. The hallway he found himself in was long, with a faded carpet, dim lighting, and doors placed intermittently. It went on for almost 50 feet before a turn obscured his line of sight.

_ Is this what magic people think of as banishment? I was expecting something a little more- alien, maybe. _

Jason followed the hallway around the turn to a window with a fire exit. Mentally, Jason was already making a plan. 

_ Step One, find everybody else.  _

If it really was some fucked up version of voodoo magic that brought him here, all the other doll’s human counterparts were here as well. So Dick, Babs, Tim, Steph, Duke, Damian, and Cass. Hopefully they would all be close.

Doing a self inventory, Jason noted that he seemed to have all the stuff he was wearing before he blacked out. Good for him, but not for everyone else. By sunrise, most bats had already returned to the nest and were probably in pajamas or equally comfy clothes.

Jason climbed out the window, dropping down into a dirty alley. Scanning his surroundings, he got on the street and started to make his way towards the louder city sounds. They’d better have public libraries somewhere close.

_ Step Two, figure out where they were.  _

Judging by the look of everything, Jason was probably in an alternate reality. Which was honestly just  _ great _ . Note the sarcasm. 

Someone was following him. The telltale feeling of the hairs on the back of his neck gave Jason a general direction of where to look. A shadow flickered in his peripherals.

_ Step Three, find a way back home. _

Shit, Roy and Kori were expecting him back this morning. They were going to go out for pancakes at a local diner. 

“Freeze!”

A cop. 

No, not a cop. Cheap suit, earpiece, and a Glock 17 that ruled out most private security. Ergo, government agent.

The man had a sturdy stance that said professional training and a tension in his muscles that said he was expecting a fight. Jason slowly put his hands in the air, well aware of how menacing his helmet would look in the predawn light.

The man crept forward and gestured for Jason to turn around. “I need to take you in.”

“Oh?” Jason kept his voice light, “On what charges? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure I need to break the law for you to arrest me.”

You know, like he hadn’t just been breaking and entering some random couple’s apartment.

“Don’t be a smartass.” The man gestured for him to turn around again.

No reason, no charges, no rights. So not a good guy. Jason gave a slow scan of his surroundings. A sound from a nearby alley and a movement from a roof told Jason all he needed to know. 

A wolfish grin spread over his face. This would be fun

Without giving any warning, Jason moved, pulling the man towards him and knocking him out with the gun he pulled from the man’s hands. 

It didn’t have rubber bullets, but it would do. 

Jason ducked behind a car as people spilled from the alleyway. Five, ten, fifteen, eighteen. Eighteen hostiles in the street with an unknown number on the rooftops. 

Jason had probably six bullets in the gun in his hands, two of his guns on his hips with about ten rubber bullets between them, six smoke bombs, and a grapple gun.

They almost had a chance.

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter went through a serious edit and is now a lot longer! I will be doing the same to the next chapter before I post anything new, but thank you all for your support!


	3. Wake Up (Pt. 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara is not feeling the aster. Luckily, Steph is always there for her old mentor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I'm a day late, sorry. But I'll be posting again soon so let me know what you think.  
> On another note, ASKJDASLDKFJHSDLKJFNH GUYS THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE LOVE THIS WORK HAS BEEN GETTING!!! I know I haven't replied to everyone's comments, but I do read them all and they never fail to make me smile!  
> I'm not to familiar with Babs or Steph, so I apologize if they are terribly out of character  
> EDIT-12/18/20- I haven't exactly re written this chapter, but I've added some new things and hopefully a little more ~meat~.

**Sunday, July 20th, 2020**

**Central Park, New York City, New York, USA**

**Earth 53,829,274**

Barbara Gordon was not all-knowing. Dick does his best to convince everyone otherwise, but no, she does not know everything. So when she wakes up on the floor of a dirty public restroom, her first feeling is confusion. A wave of panic follows but Barbara pushes it down. Last thing she remembers is going to bed after patrol.

She was dressed in a pair of loose yoga pants and a thin t-shirt. No shoes, her hair in a tangled mess around her head, and a raging headache to boot.

That’s okay, she had been in worse spots. Just remember Bruce’s standard 3 steps to any situation that is anything plan™, patent pending.

Step 1- Evaluate. She was in an unknown location, in an apparently public restroom, with no idea how she got there. From what sounds she could make out, she was in a large city. There was sunlight streaming through the small window, so she definitely wasn’t in Gotham.

She had no supplies, no money, no way to communicate, and no shoes. 

Another wave of panic threatened to overwhelm her, but Barbara pushed it aside.

Step 2- Form a plan. 2.1- Gather information. There was most likely a library somewhere close by and hopefully she would be able to figure out which city she was in on her way there. 2.2 Contact Bruce, or maybe her dad, depending on how explainable the situation was for a civilian. 2.3- Find out how she ended up in this situation to begin with.

Step 3- Implement plan (see step 2).

Easy. 

Barbara stood up with a sigh, wrinkling her nose as her skin made a pealing sound as it unstuck from the floor. 

_God, she was going to need a serious shower after this._

She exits the stall with as much dignity as she could, given the situation. Leaving the small building, Barbara realized that she had almost no hopes of flying under the radar. People were not even being subtle with their staring. Granted, she did look like she just rolled out of bed, so she decided to cut them all a little slack. 

Barbara took in her surroundings. Lots of trees, grass, and flowers. The midmorning sun shining overhead. Tall skyscrapers in the distance. The Belvedere Castle sitting innocently in the foreground. 

So she was in New York City. That- was actually a good thing. While she didn’t know the city like Gotham, she was still fairly familiar with it. But something seemed off.

Babs turned back to the skyline, already picking out the discrepancies in her head, only to be interrupted by the sound of an angry woman’s yelling.

“Get lost you gutter-whore!”

Barbara turned her head to the commotion. A tall blonde woman was standing next to a park bench, apparently having been running if her clothes were anything to go by. She was towering over another blonde laying on the bench. The second blonde said something in response, her voice lost to Babs in the noise of the city, but apparently the workout lady could hear her, because she gave a high pitched screech and lifted a hand, most likely to slap her.

The hit never landed. The girl on the park bench had moved in a smooth familiar motion, sliding off the bench and grabbing the workout lady’s hand, just like Babs had taught her. 

_Stephanie._

Things had suddenly gotten so much more complex. 

Yet, Barbara couldn’t find it in herself to be upset. It took something off her chest to know that her former protégé was with her. 

Barbara hurried over to Stephanie and the workout lady, ignoring all the weird looks she was getting.

“Steph!”

At the sound of her name, Steph gave a broad sweep of her surroundings, not taking her attention fully off the hostile in front of her. _Atta girl._

“Babs! Fancy running into you here!”

Barbara stepped up to the two blondes and gently wrapped a hand around Stephanie’s raised wrist. “We’re leaving.”

The stranger opened her mouth, probably to argue, but Barbara was already walking away with Stephanie in tow. 

As soon as they were out of earshot of the blonde, Steph started peppering Babs with questions. “What’s going on? Where did you come from? How did we get here? Is it just us here? Where is here? What-”

Babs gave a sharp tug on her arm, effectively quieting the younger girl before answering her questions. “I don’t know, the bathroom, I don’t know, I don’t know, New York City. Be patient for a little bit and I’ll explain what I know when we’re safe. And then we’ll go over my theories.”

Steph nodded, following Babs’ lead as they ducked around cameras and slowly made their way out of the park before Steph pulled Babs up an alleyway and behind a dumpster.

“We’re being followed.” 

Barbara nodded in agreement, “I spotted three of them.”

“I spotted four. Should we split up?”

Barbara ran the pros and cons through her head, “Probably. Meet me at the library on 53rd street.”

Stephanie nodded and took off, hanging a sharp right as soon as she left the alley, going back the direction that they had come. Barbara waited a few minutes in silence before following her out of the alley and taking a left turn, heading in the opposite direction that Steph had gone.

It couldn't be past 7 in the morning, but the New York crowds were already coming out in full force. Barbara put them to great use, weaving in and out of the small clusters of pedestrians . She appeared to have three people following her. They all seemed relatively non hostile, but Babs wasn’t going to take any chances. 

Darting into a Marshalls, Babs subtly grabbed numerous items of the racks before slipping out another entrance and into a lululemon further down the street and repeating the process. Normally she would normally feel more uncomfortable about shoplifting, but right now all of Babs instincts were screaming about something being terribly wrong. 

She needed to vanish until she and Steph could regroup.

A gray hoodie. A cheap _WELCOME TO NYC_ ballcap. Acid washed ripped jeans. A practical pair of off-brand nike’s. 

Doubling back the way she came would only give her about a minute, but that was more than enough time to do a quick change behind yet another dumpster. Pajamas now gone, Barbara felt much more confident in her chances of flying below the radar.

Babs went through a standard pattern for losing a tail, as she went on a roundabout path to the 53rd street public library. 

Almost half an hour after Barbara arrived, Stephanie made her way in through a pair of glass doors as she entered the library, her feet tender and sore from all the walking. Unlike Barbara, Steph was still wearing her pajamas, just now with a standard tourist hat and jacket over top.

Pulling the younger girl to where she was working, Babs pulled out a chair and motioned for Stephanie to do the same. 

“Okay, let's start at the beginning.” Barbara turned to the computer, fingers already flying across the keyboard as she talked to Steph. “What do you remember before waking up?”

“The date was Saturday, July 19th, 2020, I had just gotten back to my apartment after patrol at about 3 in the morning. Wait, so that would make it Sunday- anyways. I had undressed and gotten ready for bed. Nothing was unusual or out of place, and I went to sleep. Next thing I know, this lady is yelling at me, I’m in the same clothes I went to sleep in and- yeah, you know the rest.”

Barbara gave a satisfied nod. “Good. Our stories match up, except that I woke up on the floor of a public restroom.”

Steph pulled a face in sympathy. “Any theories?”

“Not theories anymore.” Barbara pulled the monitor around to face Steph. “We’re in an alternate dimension.”

It was a news article. 

AVENGERS: THE WORLD’S GREATEST HEROES.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you catch any grammar/spelling errors. And, as always, thank you for reading and let me know you thoughts in the comments below!


	4. Wake Up (Pt. 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Duke and Damian wake up!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my longest chapter yet! Sorry about the wait, I don't have a good excuse, but I can make one up real quick.  
> So, um... *checks notecards* I was... riding a unicorn and then... *flips through more notecards* got attacked by *closes eyes and pulls a random card* a dragon!  
> Don't worry, I'm fine now!  
> But on a serious note, thank you guys so much for the story, you have really helped me keep going with it. I have made a few edits to the earlier chapters, so feel free to go back and read them again if you want! Not much ahs changed in the way of plot, but Jason didn't end up arrested at the end of the second chapter, in case any of yall get confused.  
> Thank you so much for reading!

**Sunday, June 20th, 2020**

**New York City, New York, USA**

**Earth 53,829,274**

Duke wakes up in a dumpster.

An unfortunately common occurrence for him, though it had been happening less and less often now that he had started to hang around the Bats. 

He was laying on a mostly soft bag of garbage with an uncomfortably slimy textured  _ thing _ under his left shoulder. The smell alone was nausea inducing, and Duke hadn’t even opened his eyes yet.

Duke took a second to mourn his luck. He doesn’t even remember going on patrol and now he’s in a dumpster surrounded by questionable objects and probably going to smell like it for weeks. Dear God can he just have a break?

Gathering his wits, Duke slowly cracked open his eyes. It seemed to be mid-morning and -sunny? No, something wasn’t right.

He looks down at himself to see him wearing the same t-shirt and sweatpants that Duke remembers putting on before he went to bed. 

Was that still last night? How long had it been? 

Frowning, Duke made a move to get out of the dumpster, only to realize that he was not alone. Damian was curled up next to him, still asleep, dressed in a fluffy set of Batman pajamas. 

A strangely adorable sight, but not anything Duke was too excited for. Damian had yet to attempt to murder him, but Tim had told him plenty of stories. 

Duke was saved from trying to wake the kid up by the sound of gunshots. Damian sits up abruptly, six-inch-long knives appearing in each hand. It takes him less than a second to scan his surroundings before he turns to Duke. 

“Do you know how we arrived here?”

Duke shakes his head, lifting himself up to peek over the edge of the dumpster. Bright early morning light illuminated the alley in between an average looking apartment building and a run down dollar store. It was quiet, for a city, almost as if the whole area was holding its breath, waiting to see what would come next. 

Damian’s head popped up next to Duke’s as he also took in their surroundings. He kept his voice quiet as he turned to Duke, not even bothering to insult him. “It is apparent that we are no longer in Gotham. What are your last memories?”

“Going to bed at, like, 11:15 on Saturday night, I don't remember anything weird before I fell asleep.” Duke shifted his eyes over to the younger boy, hoping his report was detailed enough to satisfy him.

Damian nodded, “Yes, I too-”

He’s cut off by gunshots and they both ducked back down into the dumpster on instinct. 

“Those are close.”

Damian didn’t reply to Duke’s statement, not that there was a need for one. His eyes flicked upwards to the rooftops and Duke followed his gaze just in time to see a bright red helmet duck out of sight.

“Was that-?”

“It appeared to be the Red Hood.” Damian pushed his lip out, a habit of his he did when he was trying to think through something particularly difficult.

“Do you think this is some prank of his?” 

“If so, it has gone horribly wrong. Red Hood is a nuisance, but he has long since stopped trying to harm our family, much less with us being in civilian attire.”

Duke tried not to stare at Damian or let his surprise show. Not at Hood stopping trying to hurt them, but at Damian referring to everyone as his family. Damian had said it so casually that Duke wasn’t sure if the younger boy had even noticed his slip up.

More bullets sounded through the alley, bringing Duke back to the present. He would definitely be telling Dick about it later though. 

“So should we try and track Hood down, or get out of here?”

Damian opened his mouth to speak, only to hesitate. “I would like it if we could assist Red Hood, given his incompetence, but we must think of our identities first. And we don’t have any protection or weapons.” 

Aw, the little bat was  _ worried  _ about Jason. Duke hid a smile at the thought and gave a pointed look to the daggers that Damian had yet to relinquish, but was met with an eye roll. “ _ All _ our weapons.” 

Duke nodded, “So retreat, regroup, and then look for Hood?”

There was the faint sound of a bunch of people yelling, most likely a block or two away, but both Duke and Damian ignored it.

“That sounds satisfactory.” Damian vaulted over the edge without another word, Duke following after with a small frown. 

The street they were on was almost empty, people trying their hardest to get somewhere safe. Damian turned and began walking past the shoddy dollar store.

Damian was acting unusually non-combative. Trying to call up the few lessons Cass had tried to give him on body language, Duke studied his little brother as they both walked out of the alley, sticking close to the walls and avoiding cameras like it was second nature. Head constantly swiveling, shoulders pulled back, hands in his pockets- probably still wrapped around his knives, walking just faster than normal. Duke’s eyes widened at his realization; Damian was scared, of waking up in an unknown situation, or being stuck as a civilian, or maybe just being without Bruce or Dick. It didn’t matter because Damian was scared and Duke was going to make sure nothing happened to him. Just as Duke was trying to decide if right then was a good time to bring it up, Damian turned around to meet his eyes, a flash of relief showing for just an instant before he covered it up with a scowl.

“Come, Thomas, walk up here and stop acting like you are planning on abducting me. It looks ridiculous.” His words were much softer than normal, but he wouldn’t even glance in Duke’s direction. 

They hurried down the street trying to get away from the violence, but the sounds kept getting closer and closer almost as if-

“They are coming back around.” Damian’s voice confirmed Duke’s thoughts. Duke immediately began looking for places to hide. His gaze scanned the street corner they had ended up at, townhouses lining the streets to the left and right and storefronts peeking out on the street ahead, people still out and about on the sidewalks.

Duke grabbed Damian’s hand and darted across the empty road. Hopefully there would be some stores open that would let them in, or at least an alley they could hunker down in. Damian was obviously on the same line of thought, because he took the lead and started pulling Duke towards the first available gap in the buildings. It was narrow and cluttered with trash bags and cardboard boxes that the boys used to their advantage, Duke concealing Damian before turning to find his own hiding spot.

He had just found a spot that might work when the Red Hood dropped down in front of him.

“Oh, thank God, I lost you guys for a second, there.” Jason took off his helmet. “So I think I gave them the slip, but a robot dude showed up, so it’s probably not for good. Do you still have Damian with you?” The boy in question stuck his head out of the box he was curled inside to glare at his second eldest brother. “Good. So here’s the rundown. Fucked up magic, alternate reality- most likely, I haven’t confirmed that yet- you two, me, Dick, Babs, Tim, Steph, and Cass are all here. Bad guys already after me, don’t know why,” Jason pulled a large roll of cash from his pocket and shoved it into Duke’s hands, “I don’t know if I can give the robot the slip again, so stay hidden until these guys pass and then try and find the others, and get some clothes, shoes and food. Capisce?”

Duke barely had time to nod dumbly before Jason aimed his grapple gun at the nearest roof and took off. Stuffing the money into his sweatpants, Duke folded himself as small as possible and used his powers to make himself invisible to the naked eye.

Not even thirty seconds later, Duke saw a bright flash of red and gold pass overhead. Duke and Damian waited another three minutes before several armed vans sped down the road at the mouth of the alleyway. Five minutes later, Damian crawled out of his hiding spot and signaled for Duke to follow him; it was by mutual agreement that neither of them was going to talk about what happened until they were someplace private. The two ventured back onto the street, already full again of people trying to get back about their days without running late. 

Damian and Duke slipped into the crowd, blending in seamlessly even with their sleep clothes and bare feet, wandering around until they made their way to a dollar store. The cash Jason had shoved into Duke’s hands totaled roughly five hundred dollars, a perfect example of the bats’ overprepared paranoia coming in handy. The first thing that caught Duke’s eye was the plethora of New York City tourist merchandise. The next was copies of a map of the city, which Duke immediately put in the cart. 

They only grabbed the bare essentials, such as shirts, pants, socks, shoes, and an ointment and bandages for their abused feet. Duke also grabbed a box of granola bars, two water bottles, and a backpack. Damian noticed him putting them in the cart and gave a solemn nod of approval, causing Duke to bite back a smile. Yes, Damian could hurt, maim or even kill him without breaking a sweat, but sometimes the kid was just too adorable.

They were able to make it through their whole trip through the store with only a few strange looks and soon were back outside. They ducked into a public restroom at the Starbucks down the street to change into the new clothes they had purchased. Damian then grabbed them a table while Duke went to the front and ordered food and drinks for the both of them. 

By the time Duke sat down across from Damian with the food, the younger boy had already spread out the map and begun marking it with a pen that Duke had no idea how he had gotten a hold of.

“Todd had said that we were brought here by magic, which makes it difficult to find a way back, so our first move should be to gather everyone that is stuck here. We will need to start with Gordon. She will be the easiest to track down, as she is most likely to go to a public library or other place with free access to computers and she will be able to track down everyone else. After we get to her, we will need to check up on Todd and see if he escaped his pursuers. Given that he was more likely focused on trying to draw them away from us, I find it best to assume that he has managed to get himself incarcerated. If so, we will need to rescue him before he meets an untimely demise. Afterwards, we will need to look into whatever organization is trying to capture him and why and if they are after him specifically or all of us and we will need-” 

“Dami- Damian, breathe.” Duke interrupted his little brother’s steadily increasing rant. “I get it, there are a lot of things we need to do, but the first thing is to not panic-” 

“I’m not  _ panicking _ !” 

“- And take care of yourself. You won't be able to help anyone if you don’t eat and drink and stay in peak physical shape, alright?”

Duke waited until Damian gave him a sharp nod and started to drink his tea- hot even though it was the middle of the summer- before he started to talk.

“Sounds like a good plan. Step one, find Barbara. Steps two and beyond come after that, right?”

Damian gave another nod, his mouth now full of a bite of muffin. 

“So she will most likely be in a public library, on the computers.”

“That is correct, Thomas.”

“Where is the closest one?”

Damian took a deep breath and gave a small smile to Duke before pulling the map out more evenly between them and showing Duke what he had found.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada! Feel free to point out any grammar/spelling errors!


	5. Iron Man VS Helmet Dude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Jason after he left Damian and Duke in the alley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dudes, this chapter did NOT want to be written. I stg I was ready to pull my hair out! But alas, it is written, I will probably revise it later, but I'm posting it before I lose all confidence in myself.
> 
> On a completely unrelated note, thank you all so much for the loving comments,,, they are literally the only reason that I was able to continue with this story. I know that I don't reply to them all (I'm trying to do better) But please know that I do read them and they all make me melt!

**Sunday, June 20th, 2020**

**Avengers’ Tower**

**New York City, New York, USA**

**Earth 53,829,274**

Tony Stark was  _ not  _ having a good day. Or week. Hell, his whole year was turning out to be shitty. But today was especially Bad. 

So he had been working in his lab, right? Day 37 of avoiding anything and everything to do with the other residents of the Tower and day 15 of his and Pepper’s “break”. And day 4 of no sleep but that was fairly irrelevant. 

So he had been working in his lab, learning all he could about neurology and mental reprogramming and how to reverse it when SHIELD had called. Apparently, there was some sort of gunfight going on in downtown Manhattan, not even half a dozen blocks away. They had all but demanded that he go there _ right now _ and fix it for them. Tony spent the next minute trying not to lose his temper as he reminded them that, no, he doesn’t work for them, yes, he is Iron Man, but he is also Tony Stark and no, they really didn’t want him on their bad side right now. 

SHIELD had just recently been revamped, a condition of the New Accords. Not quite separate from the government, but also not its bitch. 

While he was talking to the Agent- who had introduced himself at the beginning of the call only for Tony to forget immediately- JARVIS was pulling up all the camera footage up of the fight. It actually appeared that it was almost 30 people against 1.

And the 1 was winning.

They- probably a he- were built like a brick house, with broad shoulders and a dense leather jacket that did a fairly decent job of concealing all the muscle that Tony was sure they had. They had a gun in each hand, but were constantly using their surroundings to take out their opponents. A red helmet covered just about any identifying marks on their face and their leather jacket, cargo pants, and gloves did a good job hiding the rest of them. 

Tony watched in awe as the dude switched one of their real guns for a  _ grapple gun _ . They swung, and used the momentum to reach a group filling onto a rooftop and then- carnage. The person moves with such a deadly grace that not even Natasha would be able to replicate. It was like watching a forest fire, yet still leaving people alive behind them.

Tony wanted to keep watching, wanted to see the stranger completely wreck everyone that went against them, but he needed to go. Whoever this stranger was, they were highly trained and Tony needed to know how. 

“JARVIS?” 

The AI didn’t need any further prompting to send out a new suit. Not looking back, Tony took off towards the direction of the fight.

It wasn’t until Tony finally arrived that he realized that he had no idea which side he should be fighting.

Thinking fast, Tony landed directly in the middle of the fighting. Everyone froze like a magic switch was flipped. Tony raised both his gauntlets.

“Alright, here’s how it’s going to go. Everyone is going to drop their weapons and put both hands in the air before I blast you all into Kingdom Come. Got it?”

There was a moment of silence as everyone cautiously nodded. The next second was filled with gun fire as at least five different people turned their guns on him, not including the Helmet Dude, who was furiously rummaging around in their pockets. 

Tony let JARVIS take over his smaller weapons systems to take care of all the idiots that were firing at him. The Helmet Dude took one look at all the people spread out on the roof tops before spreading their hands in a surprisingly innocent gesture.

“Hey, thanks for the assist, man! But if you don’t mind, I’m going to hightail it before the rest of these guys’ buddies show up.” The voice was definitely giving points to the probably-a-guy category, but also gave a point to a brand new maybe-a-robot category that Tony would need to look into more.

“Yeah, actually, I do mind. It’s not everyday that I get told that thirty people are getting their asses handed to them by the one dude they tried to pick a fight with, so if you don’t mind, we’re definitely going to have some questions for you.”

“Oh really? And what type of questions would you have for a little old me?” Helmet dude gave nothing away with his body language or heavily mechanicalized voice.

“Oh you know, the standard favorite color, where'd you get that training, who are you working for, what do you do to relax, nothing too personal.”

Helmet dude gave a small huff -maybe amusement?- before tilting his head towards the edge of the roof. “Yeah, that's going to be a hard no from me. Thanks for the offer though!”

Not even waiting for a response, Helmet dude chucked a small disk at Iron Man’s chest. It made contact with a sharp  _ ping! _ noise before absolutely fritzing the system. By the time Tony had manually unlocked the suit, Helmet dude was long gone. Giving a frustrated sigh, Tony peeled off the metal disk, wrapped it in a special insulating, signal-blocking bag, and placed it in his pocket to look at later. 

With the mystery disk off his suit, JARVIS only needed a few seconds to reboot before opening up the suit for Tony to step back inside. Five seconds later and Tony was flying through the sky in intense circles, scanners looking for anything remotely similar to the Helmet Man. 

Tony finally lands in front of the Helmet dude as he is swinging to the top of a skyscraper. Tony doesn’t hesitate to activate his blasters, hitting the guy square in the chest and knocking him flat on his ass.

“Alright, cherry-head, game’s over.”


End file.
